Things concerning Jews in Portland and everywhere that happen here and in Israel coming from an American-Israeli.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Defining the Size of Eretz Yisrael from the Torah

Nadene Goldfoot

One has to look at our Tanakh (Bible-Torah plus) to find the definition of the size of Eretz Yisrael. There are many references, not just one.
Noah (story of the flood) had 3 sons; Shem, Ham and Japheth. We are descended from Shem.

Who were the Jewish people? They were first known as the Hebrews. Eber was the great-grandson of Shem and the ancestor of Abram who is called Ha-ibri. From "Eber" comes the word "Hebrew.", the name by which the Israelites were known to foreign peoples. Eber is the ancestor of the people of Israel. Our line is from Abraham, his son Isaac and his son, Jacob. Other issues that Abraham had such as Ishmael and Esau left the family line and started the Arab nations. Jacob's descendants spent 400 years in slavery in Egypt.

Genesis 15: 18-21. To start with, G-d made a covenant with Abram saying, "Have I given this land to your descendants: -said to be in future- From the river of Egypt (Nile) to the great river, the Euphrates River: the Kennite, the Kenizzite (friendly tribes living in the( south of Eretz Yisrael, which merged with the Israelites,) and the Kadmonite; the Hittite (powerful and warlike nation who held sway in Syria and Asia Minor from 1800 to 900 BCE.) , the Perizzite (close to Canaanites) , and the Rephaim; the Amorite (could be all the people of Canaan before the coming of the Israelites, and sometimes one particular warlike tribe among the Canaanites) , the Canaanite, the Girgashite (one of the peoples driven from Canaan by the Israelites) , and the Jebusite(lived in and around Jerusalem, originally known as Jebus). "

Exodus 23-31 "And I will set my border from the Red Sea to the sea the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River

Numbers 34:1-15 The land of Canaan is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance; according to its borders. The Southern border: Your southern side shall be from the wilderness of Zin at the side of Edom, and your southern border shall be from the edge of the Salt Sea to the east. The border shall go around south of Maaleh-akrraabbim, and shall pass toward Zin; and its outskirts shall be south of Kadesh-barnea; then it shall go out to Hazar-addar and pass to Azmon. The border shall go around from Azmon to the stream of Egypt, and its outskirts shall be toward the Sea.

The Western border: It shall be for you the Great Sea and the district; this shall be for you the western border.

The Northern border: From the Great Sea you shall turn to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall turn to the approach to Hamath, and the outskirts of the border shall be toward Zedad. The border shall go forth toward Zifron and its outskirts shall be Hazar-enan; this shall be for you the northern border. The Eastern border: You shall draw yourselves as the eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shefam. The border shall descend from Shefam to Riblah, east of Ain; the border shall descend and extend to the bank of the Kinnereth Sea to the east. The border shall descend to the Jordan, and its outskirts shall be the Salt Sea; this shall be the Land for you, according to its borders all around. Ezekiel 47: 15-20

Border of Eretz Yisral: Blue line from Ezekiel, Red line from Torah North Side: From the Great Sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the approach to Zedad, Hamath, Berothah, and Sibraim which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, and Hazer-hatticon which is on the border of Hauran. The border shall thus go from the Sea to Hazar-enon by the border of Damascus, with the northern border extending northward to the border of Hamath. This is the northern side. Eastern side: Between Hauran and Damascus, between Gilead and the Land of Israel, the Jordan, you shall measure from the northern border to the Eastern Sea. This is the eastern side. Southern side: Southward: From Tamar until the waters of Meriboth-kadesh, to the stream, to the Great Sea. This is the southern side southward. Western side: The Great Sea From the southern border until opposite the approach to Hamath. This is the western side. Deuteronomy 18: 8 when Hashem (G-d, meaning the Name) will broaden your boundary, as He swore to your forefathers, and He will give you the entire Land that He spoke to your forefathers to give, when you observe this entire commandment to perform it--which I command yhou today---to love Hashem, your G-d and to walk in his ways all the years, then you shall add 3 more cities to these 3. Innocent blood shall not be shed in the the midst of yhour Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives as an inheritance, for then blood will be upon you. 14. You shall not move a boundary of your fellow, which the early ones marked out, in your inheritance that you shall inherit, in the Land that Hashem, your G-d gives you to posses it.
This would make Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as part of the biblical land of Eretz Yisrael. The typical saying was from "Dan to Beersheba" as to the size of the land. .The Israelites did not succeed in driving out the Canaanites, and because of that their next generation wouldn't see the miraculous victories that their fathers saw. This generation had to learn the art of warfare.

About Me

I'm the American Nadene Goldfoot. Another lives in England. I'm the one who went to Israel and lived there from 1980 to the end of 1985. I'm an amateur genealogist for our family who also has expanded interests into dna. I now spend my time writing in my 3 blogs teaching about Israel and defending her position.

On my tree I have found Rabbi Samson Wertheimer, RASHI, and King David through DNA testing. Another branch holds the kings and queens of England by genealogy. When current events become deplorable, I turn to this hobby for a lift. It's all whetted my appetite for ancient history of Israel.